According to E! on line, Emma has made People Magazine's 100 most beautiful. Since this won't be confirmed till tomorrow I'm placing it under the hopefully-true-rumor category. But good news, if it is true, we should get a new photo!
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b121200_applegate_pattinson_clooney_obama_top.html
other mentions:
http://jemistry.wordpress.com/2009/04/29/demi-selena-joe-and-nick-100-most-beautiful-people-issue/
http://amandabynesnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/peoples-most-beautiful.html
http://www.oceanup.com/2009/04/nick-kevin-jonas-emma-watson-keke-palmer-worlds-most-beautiful-people.html
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Lilacs on a Lilac Bike
From my friend E, it's a lilac seller in Toulouse who was transporting the flowers with a lilac-colored bike. How perfect is that?
I love the white fenders-grips-saddle with the lilac.
Not-so-perfect is that skirt guard, though it does inspire me to consider making one of my own, particularly now that I'm wearing more skirts.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Emma Watson- the full "Interview"
Here's the whole "Interview" interview. The first part was already posted on the Interview website. I typed up the second half so all typos belong to me! Hopefully scans to follow, I'm working on a better photo section so hopefully it won't take me long. They are gorgeous photographs.
DEREK BLASBERG: I can’t believe that was your very first football match ever. What have you been doing your whole life?
EMMA WATSON: Oh, I don’t know. I did these little films that no one’s ever heard of. Just a fewindependents.
BLASBERG: And I hear you just hosted your first-ever dinner party last night. How did that go?
WATSON: Well, it was a disaster. Not because I’m a terrible cook, but because the time limit was too short. I was only able to make half the pie—a cottage pie, which is this very British beef mince meal—so I had to abandon it.
BLASBERG: Was this one of those situations where you wish you had a magic wand?
WATSON: Oh, my god. That is the first time in the whole course of my knowing you that you’ve resorted to making a bad Harry Potter joke. This is a sad moment. But, yes, I ran out of time. It was like MasterChef in my kitchen last night, a really stressful atmosphere . . .
BLASBERG: With sweat dripping down your nose, and you panting heavily?
WATSON: Exactly. But as a debutante foray into entertaining, I aced it.
BLASBERG: What a weekend of firsts: first dinner party, first football game. What else?
WATSON: First time I worked with [photographer] Nick Knight. He was very nice, very English.
BLASBERG: Do you prefer working with an English team? When I visited you on the Harry Potter set, the majority of people were Englishmen.
WATSON: Well, I shouldn’t say I have a favorite director—that wouldn’t be very diplomatic. But one of the people I enjoyed working with most was Alfonso Cuarón [who directed Watson in the third Potter film, Harry Potter and the Prisonerof Azkaban (2004)]. I have a real thing forMexican directors. And I loveGuillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu.
BLASBERG: Is that why you were in Mexico earlier this year?WATSON: I went because I wanted to travel and I had heard such great things about the country.I didn’t get to see any of those guys.
BLASBERG: Of course not. A young girl in Mexico means spring break! Cancún, baby! Tequila shots at Señor Frogs!
WATSON: That was the weirdest place ever. In Cancún, I felt like I had walked into an American teen movie. I was only there for two days—thankfully my friends and I were more interested in traveling around other parts of the country. But I seriously thought it was only like that in movies.
BLASBERG: When I was in high school, we went to Mexico for spring break, and it was surreal. Like, school nerds entering wet-T-shirt contests, and high-school jocks screwing the secretly slutty goth theater girls.
WATSON: It’s so exciting.
BLASBERG: This is what you missed while you were doing Harry Potter, Emma.
WATSON: I know. I feel so deprived. But Cancún was certainly not my favorite. We went to Ixtapa, where the ruins are. It was a beautiful, chilled-out part of the country. We went to Mexico City, which was amazing, but quite dangerous. We were happy to get out of there in the end. And we went to Cuba—I would tell everyone to go to Cuba now, because in 10 years it will be completely different.
BLASBERG: Do you like to travel?
WATSON: Yes, and that’s where the films have helped. With Harry Potter, I’ve been all over the world. I probably wouldn’t have gone to New York so young if it weren’t for the films. I was 11, and I remember it distinctly because it was just after 9/11. I was at ground zero, looking at this gallery that had messages and drawings all over the walls.
BLASBERG: That’s heavy stuff for an 11-year-old.
WATSON: Yeah, it was. I remember one of the producers gave this great speech while we were there, saying that maybe the reason Harry Potter was so successful, particularly then, was because people really wanted to be uplifted or taken to another place.
BLASBERG: I find it intriguing that you started this journey when you were 9. How did you even know about the books?
WATSON: My dad used to read them to me before I went to bed and while on long car journeys.
BLASBERG: So then you just went to an open call?
WATSON: No, there was no open audition—they went all over England to find these characters, and not just drama schools. They came to my school and asked if they could put forward a group of 20 children between the ages of 9 and 12. They took my photograph in the school gym, and then I got a call three weeks later.
BLASBERG: What happened between that gym photo and the first day of shooting?
WATSON: It was a long time—eight auditions . . .
BLASBERG: Did you meet any of the other girls who were going out for the parts?
WATSON: Yes! I won’t say the name, but there was this girl who had already done a film before. I can remember just crumbling at the sight of her, thinking, “She’s been in a film before, and she knows how to do this. I have no chance.” Even worse, one time I came to the studios, and she was there playing cards with one of the other boys auditioning for Harry—not Daniel Radcliffe. And I was like, “Oh, my god, they’re making friends already! I’m definitely not going to get it.” I was so, so upset.
BLASBERG: I bet those two have pictures of you and Daniel Radcliffe on their dartboards now.
WATSON: Probably. But I wanted it so badly.
BLASBERG: Why? Because you wanted to be in movies and be famous, or because you identified with that role?
WATSON: I loved the books—I was a massive fan. I just felt like that part belonged to me. I know that sounds crazy, but from that first audition, I always knew. At the beginning, they were casting the other characters as well—but I always knew I was going out for Hermione. She came so naturally to me. Maybe so much of myself at the time was similar to her. Of course, all this terrified my parents—there were literally thousands and thousands of girls going out for the audition, and my parents were anxious about what I would do if I didn’t get it.
BLASBERG: I’m sure they were like, “What are we going to get her if she doesn’t make it? A pony?”
WATSON: They were trying to make me stay realistic—but I wasn’t having any of it. I was going to get that part. This is a sweet thing: My dad did a roast on a Sunday, and he gave me the wishbone, and I obviously made the wish that I would get this role. I still have that wishbone upstairs in my jewelry box.
BLASBERG: It’s been a pretty effective good-luck charm. And now you’re not only doing movies, you’ve become chums with Karl Lagerfeld. How is that friendship going?
WATSON: I’d met Karl a few times before, at parties or something where we really couldn’t talk.
But this was a dream come true. We spent the whole day together, and he can talk about anything—literature, art, science, modern culture. I was totally seduced. I felt spoiled to be spending so much time with him.
BLASBERG: Now that you’ve made a little bit of money, are you spending it all on fashion?
WATSON: I don’t really buy designer stuff. I have a few nice things, but I don’t really have the occasion to wear couture too often. When I’m in a situation where I do need to dress up, I’mtypically lent something—which means I have to give it back at midnight, like Cinderella.
BLASBERG: What was your first big splurge when the Potter money came in?
WATSON: Hmm . . . I got myself a laptop. I took my dad to Tuscany. He works so hard, my dad, so I rang up his secretary and asked when he was free, and I booked us a holiday. What else? Oh, I got myself a car.
BLASBERG: I saw the car. I think it’s very good that Hermione Granger drives a Prius.
WATSON: I got my license last year, and I love the Prius, even if my friends say it’s ugly. They say I drive a brick. And, to be fair, it’s not the prettiest car on the road, but it’s good for the environment. It’s sensible and boring—like me.
BLASBERG: It’s polite and efficient, like you.
WATSON: Yes, I am the Prius of my peer group.
BLASBERG: You’ve said previously that after the Harry Potter films are done you’re not sure you’ll continue to be a full-time actress. I personally thought that comment got a lot of unwarranted criticism. When I was 9, if someone had asked me what I wanted to be forever, I would have said a pirate, or a fire engine. Can you imagine if someone held me to that?
WATSON: Ha! I was a little bit shocked by people’s responses, too. Maybe it’s because, at the moment, there are so many people who want to be famous, so how could I not want this? Or, how could I not want to keep it forever? But I guess I just want to be sure it’s what I want. I was so young, and I don’t think I really knew the greatness of what I was signing on for. I really want to study. I would love to try theater. I need to try stuff out. But I say all this now—I’m sure I’ll still be here in 10 years, making Harry Potter 30.
BLASBERG: Maybe you could play Hermione’s mom?
WATSON: Oh, don’t! That would be so cringe! Don’t you think people would be bored of seeing me in Potterworld by then?
BLASBERG: Not only that, it’s probably tiring being Hermione. I was on the set with you, and those are long, long days. What time are you there every morning?
WATSON: At the moment, we’re there at about 6:30 a.m., which means I’m picked up at about 5:45 a.m. We’re filming both the seventh and eighth movies at once, and I’m trying to do all of my scenes now and through the summer so I’ll be available for university come September—though it already looks like I’ll be working on Christmas and March breaks.
BLASBERG: In these next two films, are most of your scenes with Dan and Rupert?
WATSON: Yes. In the last book, they’ve left Hogwarts, and they’re traveling around together. It feels right that it started with the three of us and it’s ending with the three of us. It’s about our friendship.
BLASBERG: How are you with those young men off set? Are you friends?
WATSON: To be honest, we see so much of each other when we’re working that hanging out together would be overload. I love them, but I need to see other friends off set. They’re like my siblings now.
BLASBERG: You three have this weird shared experience, though. There’s no one else who will truly know what it was like to grow up in these roles, in this franchise, in this sudden fame, like the three of you do.
WATSON: I completely agree with that, but we’re three different people, too. We will always be very important to each other. But, at the same time, after eight Harry Potter films, we’ll be ready to go and do other things, and be other people, and have time for ourselves.
BLASBERG: Can you imagine that last day of shooting?
WATSON: I can’t. I will be . . . uncontrollable. It’s been half of our lives. It’s made us, it’s formed us. It’s such a big part of my life, so it will be really sad—and so much of the crew who have been there since the beginning are like my family.
BLASBERG: Like your lovely driver, Nigel.
WATSON: Yes, I love Nigel! You know, he drove me to that first audition, and he’s been drivingme ever since. He’s like my best friend—he knows everything about my life. If you have to sit in the car with someone for two hours a day, you had better like him! I get very jealous when he drives someone else.
BLASBERG: We’ve spoken about you possibly coming to America for university. What’s so appealing about going to an Ivy League school?
WATSON: I never thought that I would want to go to America for university. As a child, I aspired to go to Oxbridge, because that’s where my parents went. When my dad talks about his time there, he says it was the most incredible experience.
BLASBERG: So what made you entertain the idea of the States?
WATSON: Well, I did a Shakespeare course at RADA [Royal Academy of Dramatic Art] last summer, and three quarters of the students were from abroad, mainly the United States. I started talking to them about what they were doing at their schools, and I respected the approach. Here, I feel the specification is very narrow, whereas in America, you’re encouraged to be broad and choose many different subjects. For someone who has missed as much school as I have, I want to go back and discover what else there is. I always loved school—I was a proper, proper nerd. I just want that back again.
BLASBERG: What are you going to study?
WATSON: History, English . . . I want to keep learning French, maybe some politics. I want to continue studying art.
BLASBERG: I think you should absolutely devote some studies to your painting. I keep looking at this big picture that you did of your stepbrother, which is hung above your couch.
WATSON: I guess I’m a little shy about my art, but I love painting people and expressions and faces. I’ve always done art, though not a lot of people know it.
BLASBERG: Which artists have influenced you?
WATSON: For this particular piece, I’d say Jenny Saville. Most of her stuff is quite gruesome, but I love her painting technique. I like anything to do with the body . . . I love Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, and Francis Bacon. You and I went to the Bacon exhibit at Tate Britain last year, and I thought it was so moving.
BLASBERG: So that’s a requirement when you hit the Ivy League—time in the studio?
WATSON: It’s really important to me to do that. Since I haven’t been in school since July, I’ve only now realized how much I miss it. I don’t make time for it now, and you really have to sit yourself down and think about it and do it. As much as I could, when I wasn’t filming, I would go to school. When filming, I would send all of my work back to be marked by my teachers. As I got older, though, it was harder to slip in and out.
Blasberg: Were you accepted as a kid in school? Just your average muggle?
Watson: When I moved to my new school, it took a while for people to realize that I was a real person, that I’m normal. Basically, they got bored of me after a couple of weeks. I didn’t get bullied or pushed against lockers or anything. The school that I went to was very academic, and the girls were very focused on their grades- they had ambitions of their own.
Blasberg: Do you really want to be a nerd again? You want to spend hours in the library, wearing dirty clothes, and lugging around an ugly backpack instead of a Chanel bag?
Watson: Yes. I want to be stressed about deadlines. I want to cycle around campus on a little bicycle. I miss the smell of books. I miss my pencil case and ring binders. I want it all back.
Blasberg: Seeing you on the set with that giant Hermione hair was a trip. I bet you’ll be happy to see those extensions go. Did the film make any other changes?
Watson: Hermione was meant to have big brown bushy hair and buck teeth. The bushy hair that you saw was obtained by loads of back-combing and teasing, but at the beginning they did try to give me false teeth, which I couldn’t speak with. So the buck teeth had to go.
Blasberg: Looking back now, that decision was actually quit fortuitous.
Watson: I know. And they tried to give Dan contacts- because Harry has green eyes and Dan has blue eyes. But, again, like I suffered with fake buck teeth, putting contact lenses in an 11-year-old boy’s eyes every day wasn’t easy.
Blasberg: But these are small details.
Watson: Yes, but I probably shouldn’t be saying them. Everyone seems to have forgotten these kinds of inaccuracies, ad the now the fans will be going, “Oh, yeah, they did such a rubbish job.” These are those fans-the ones who come up to me and ask me wildly specific questions about the books that I don’t know…And I’m pretty good at Potter trivia.
Blasberg: Tell the truth: Would you really be okay with this one part defining your whole acting career? Like, earlier in the car, I told you about Mayim Bialik, the girl who played Blossom on the hit TV show in America in the 90’s, and then gave everything up to study neuroscience at UCLA. You’re really okay with only being Hermione if you find something like to do more at a university?
Watson: I can honestly see myself both ways. Option one being that I go to university and go down a different path. But there are things I love about this industry too.
Blasberg: It’s a hard question to answer now.
Watson: I’ve always juggled things, so I don’t feel like I have to chose at all. It’s not a binary thing. It’s not one or the other. You can make a film in 6 weeks- just not a Harry Potter film.
Blasberg: You’re not the first actress to go to college. DO you think, if you continue in film, you’ll have trouble making the transition from Hermione to other roles?
Watson: It will be hard for people to detach me from Harry Potter. I’m so identified with Hermione, and people have watched me grow up in that role. I think it’s difficult to choose the right parts, and I think it will be hard to pick the next role after this one. But I like the challenge.
Blasberg: Until then, are you still happy going to a film set every day, instead of doing the whole typical teenage things like football games, dance clubs, and Sunday dinners?
Watson: Of coarse there have been times when I’ve thought it was unfair that I didn’t make it to a friend’s birthday or a sleepover because I had different responsibilities than most people my age. But I wouldn’t change it for anything. It’s made me who I am, and there are so many things that have come from it.
Blasberg: You’re probably the only 19-year-old girl in London who will be in bed at 9 p.m. this weekend, though.
Watson: Tell me about it. Having a bedtime is hard to explain to my friends. Most of my friends are on their gap year right now, so they’re in Thailand at a moon party dancing on a beach and getting drunk and being young.
Blasberg: Are all your young friends actors and entertainment people too?
Watson- It’s a real mix. My roommate is a model, but most of my other friends are working at bars and clubs and on their gap year. A lot of my friends work at this club back in Oxford called the Kukui, so if I want to catch up with them, I have to go sit in the cloakroom with them for a couple of hours.
Blasberg-: I like the idea you’re content to be good and go home early, because you’re aware of the greater importance . Like, if you go out tonight and show up late tomorrow, you’re not messing up your career or your image- you’re screwing with something much bigger. I’ve met young people in similar situations-early fame, lots of money, easy access, temptation at their fingertips. But you’ve been responsible and decidedly mature. It’s admirable.
Watson-: Harry Potter has inspired so many people. I get these amazing letters from mothers whose children began to love reading because of these books, or a heartbreaking tale from an ill person who pulled through with Harry Potter. I meet people every day who are genuinely filled with excitement of these characters- that’s totally what makes the 5:45 a.m. pickup okay.
Blasberg: Besides, Ems, if you screwed around with Hermione, you wouldn’t be able to leave this apartment.
Watson: Can you imagine? [shivers] I would have to become a hermit.
__________________
credit to Jopley
DEREK BLASBERG: I can’t believe that was your very first football match ever. What have you been doing your whole life?
EMMA WATSON: Oh, I don’t know. I did these little films that no one’s ever heard of. Just a fewindependents.
BLASBERG: And I hear you just hosted your first-ever dinner party last night. How did that go?
WATSON: Well, it was a disaster. Not because I’m a terrible cook, but because the time limit was too short. I was only able to make half the pie—a cottage pie, which is this very British beef mince meal—so I had to abandon it.
BLASBERG: Was this one of those situations where you wish you had a magic wand?
WATSON: Oh, my god. That is the first time in the whole course of my knowing you that you’ve resorted to making a bad Harry Potter joke. This is a sad moment. But, yes, I ran out of time. It was like MasterChef in my kitchen last night, a really stressful atmosphere . . .
BLASBERG: With sweat dripping down your nose, and you panting heavily?
WATSON: Exactly. But as a debutante foray into entertaining, I aced it.
BLASBERG: What a weekend of firsts: first dinner party, first football game. What else?
WATSON: First time I worked with [photographer] Nick Knight. He was very nice, very English.
BLASBERG: Do you prefer working with an English team? When I visited you on the Harry Potter set, the majority of people were Englishmen.
WATSON: Well, I shouldn’t say I have a favorite director—that wouldn’t be very diplomatic. But one of the people I enjoyed working with most was Alfonso Cuarón [who directed Watson in the third Potter film, Harry Potter and the Prisonerof Azkaban (2004)]. I have a real thing forMexican directors. And I loveGuillermo del Toro and Alejandro González Iñárritu.
BLASBERG: Is that why you were in Mexico earlier this year?WATSON: I went because I wanted to travel and I had heard such great things about the country.I didn’t get to see any of those guys.
BLASBERG: Of course not. A young girl in Mexico means spring break! Cancún, baby! Tequila shots at Señor Frogs!
WATSON: That was the weirdest place ever. In Cancún, I felt like I had walked into an American teen movie. I was only there for two days—thankfully my friends and I were more interested in traveling around other parts of the country. But I seriously thought it was only like that in movies.
BLASBERG: When I was in high school, we went to Mexico for spring break, and it was surreal. Like, school nerds entering wet-T-shirt contests, and high-school jocks screwing the secretly slutty goth theater girls.
WATSON: It’s so exciting.
BLASBERG: This is what you missed while you were doing Harry Potter, Emma.
WATSON: I know. I feel so deprived. But Cancún was certainly not my favorite. We went to Ixtapa, where the ruins are. It was a beautiful, chilled-out part of the country. We went to Mexico City, which was amazing, but quite dangerous. We were happy to get out of there in the end. And we went to Cuba—I would tell everyone to go to Cuba now, because in 10 years it will be completely different.
BLASBERG: Do you like to travel?
WATSON: Yes, and that’s where the films have helped. With Harry Potter, I’ve been all over the world. I probably wouldn’t have gone to New York so young if it weren’t for the films. I was 11, and I remember it distinctly because it was just after 9/11. I was at ground zero, looking at this gallery that had messages and drawings all over the walls.
BLASBERG: That’s heavy stuff for an 11-year-old.
WATSON: Yeah, it was. I remember one of the producers gave this great speech while we were there, saying that maybe the reason Harry Potter was so successful, particularly then, was because people really wanted to be uplifted or taken to another place.
BLASBERG: I find it intriguing that you started this journey when you were 9. How did you even know about the books?
WATSON: My dad used to read them to me before I went to bed and while on long car journeys.
BLASBERG: So then you just went to an open call?
WATSON: No, there was no open audition—they went all over England to find these characters, and not just drama schools. They came to my school and asked if they could put forward a group of 20 children between the ages of 9 and 12. They took my photograph in the school gym, and then I got a call three weeks later.
BLASBERG: What happened between that gym photo and the first day of shooting?
WATSON: It was a long time—eight auditions . . .
BLASBERG: Did you meet any of the other girls who were going out for the parts?
WATSON: Yes! I won’t say the name, but there was this girl who had already done a film before. I can remember just crumbling at the sight of her, thinking, “She’s been in a film before, and she knows how to do this. I have no chance.” Even worse, one time I came to the studios, and she was there playing cards with one of the other boys auditioning for Harry—not Daniel Radcliffe. And I was like, “Oh, my god, they’re making friends already! I’m definitely not going to get it.” I was so, so upset.
BLASBERG: I bet those two have pictures of you and Daniel Radcliffe on their dartboards now.
WATSON: Probably. But I wanted it so badly.
BLASBERG: Why? Because you wanted to be in movies and be famous, or because you identified with that role?
WATSON: I loved the books—I was a massive fan. I just felt like that part belonged to me. I know that sounds crazy, but from that first audition, I always knew. At the beginning, they were casting the other characters as well—but I always knew I was going out for Hermione. She came so naturally to me. Maybe so much of myself at the time was similar to her. Of course, all this terrified my parents—there were literally thousands and thousands of girls going out for the audition, and my parents were anxious about what I would do if I didn’t get it.
BLASBERG: I’m sure they were like, “What are we going to get her if she doesn’t make it? A pony?”
WATSON: They were trying to make me stay realistic—but I wasn’t having any of it. I was going to get that part. This is a sweet thing: My dad did a roast on a Sunday, and he gave me the wishbone, and I obviously made the wish that I would get this role. I still have that wishbone upstairs in my jewelry box.
BLASBERG: It’s been a pretty effective good-luck charm. And now you’re not only doing movies, you’ve become chums with Karl Lagerfeld. How is that friendship going?
WATSON: I’d met Karl a few times before, at parties or something where we really couldn’t talk.
But this was a dream come true. We spent the whole day together, and he can talk about anything—literature, art, science, modern culture. I was totally seduced. I felt spoiled to be spending so much time with him.
BLASBERG: Now that you’ve made a little bit of money, are you spending it all on fashion?
WATSON: I don’t really buy designer stuff. I have a few nice things, but I don’t really have the occasion to wear couture too often. When I’m in a situation where I do need to dress up, I’mtypically lent something—which means I have to give it back at midnight, like Cinderella.
BLASBERG: What was your first big splurge when the Potter money came in?
WATSON: Hmm . . . I got myself a laptop. I took my dad to Tuscany. He works so hard, my dad, so I rang up his secretary and asked when he was free, and I booked us a holiday. What else? Oh, I got myself a car.
BLASBERG: I saw the car. I think it’s very good that Hermione Granger drives a Prius.
WATSON: I got my license last year, and I love the Prius, even if my friends say it’s ugly. They say I drive a brick. And, to be fair, it’s not the prettiest car on the road, but it’s good for the environment. It’s sensible and boring—like me.
BLASBERG: It’s polite and efficient, like you.
WATSON: Yes, I am the Prius of my peer group.
BLASBERG: You’ve said previously that after the Harry Potter films are done you’re not sure you’ll continue to be a full-time actress. I personally thought that comment got a lot of unwarranted criticism. When I was 9, if someone had asked me what I wanted to be forever, I would have said a pirate, or a fire engine. Can you imagine if someone held me to that?
WATSON: Ha! I was a little bit shocked by people’s responses, too. Maybe it’s because, at the moment, there are so many people who want to be famous, so how could I not want this? Or, how could I not want to keep it forever? But I guess I just want to be sure it’s what I want. I was so young, and I don’t think I really knew the greatness of what I was signing on for. I really want to study. I would love to try theater. I need to try stuff out. But I say all this now—I’m sure I’ll still be here in 10 years, making Harry Potter 30.
BLASBERG: Maybe you could play Hermione’s mom?
WATSON: Oh, don’t! That would be so cringe! Don’t you think people would be bored of seeing me in Potterworld by then?
BLASBERG: Not only that, it’s probably tiring being Hermione. I was on the set with you, and those are long, long days. What time are you there every morning?
WATSON: At the moment, we’re there at about 6:30 a.m., which means I’m picked up at about 5:45 a.m. We’re filming both the seventh and eighth movies at once, and I’m trying to do all of my scenes now and through the summer so I’ll be available for university come September—though it already looks like I’ll be working on Christmas and March breaks.
BLASBERG: In these next two films, are most of your scenes with Dan and Rupert?
WATSON: Yes. In the last book, they’ve left Hogwarts, and they’re traveling around together. It feels right that it started with the three of us and it’s ending with the three of us. It’s about our friendship.
BLASBERG: How are you with those young men off set? Are you friends?
WATSON: To be honest, we see so much of each other when we’re working that hanging out together would be overload. I love them, but I need to see other friends off set. They’re like my siblings now.
BLASBERG: You three have this weird shared experience, though. There’s no one else who will truly know what it was like to grow up in these roles, in this franchise, in this sudden fame, like the three of you do.
WATSON: I completely agree with that, but we’re three different people, too. We will always be very important to each other. But, at the same time, after eight Harry Potter films, we’ll be ready to go and do other things, and be other people, and have time for ourselves.
BLASBERG: Can you imagine that last day of shooting?
WATSON: I can’t. I will be . . . uncontrollable. It’s been half of our lives. It’s made us, it’s formed us. It’s such a big part of my life, so it will be really sad—and so much of the crew who have been there since the beginning are like my family.
BLASBERG: Like your lovely driver, Nigel.
WATSON: Yes, I love Nigel! You know, he drove me to that first audition, and he’s been drivingme ever since. He’s like my best friend—he knows everything about my life. If you have to sit in the car with someone for two hours a day, you had better like him! I get very jealous when he drives someone else.
BLASBERG: We’ve spoken about you possibly coming to America for university. What’s so appealing about going to an Ivy League school?
WATSON: I never thought that I would want to go to America for university. As a child, I aspired to go to Oxbridge, because that’s where my parents went. When my dad talks about his time there, he says it was the most incredible experience.
BLASBERG: So what made you entertain the idea of the States?
WATSON: Well, I did a Shakespeare course at RADA [Royal Academy of Dramatic Art] last summer, and three quarters of the students were from abroad, mainly the United States. I started talking to them about what they were doing at their schools, and I respected the approach. Here, I feel the specification is very narrow, whereas in America, you’re encouraged to be broad and choose many different subjects. For someone who has missed as much school as I have, I want to go back and discover what else there is. I always loved school—I was a proper, proper nerd. I just want that back again.
BLASBERG: What are you going to study?
WATSON: History, English . . . I want to keep learning French, maybe some politics. I want to continue studying art.
BLASBERG: I think you should absolutely devote some studies to your painting. I keep looking at this big picture that you did of your stepbrother, which is hung above your couch.
WATSON: I guess I’m a little shy about my art, but I love painting people and expressions and faces. I’ve always done art, though not a lot of people know it.
BLASBERG: Which artists have influenced you?
WATSON: For this particular piece, I’d say Jenny Saville. Most of her stuff is quite gruesome, but I love her painting technique. I like anything to do with the body . . . I love Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, and Francis Bacon. You and I went to the Bacon exhibit at Tate Britain last year, and I thought it was so moving.
BLASBERG: So that’s a requirement when you hit the Ivy League—time in the studio?
WATSON: It’s really important to me to do that. Since I haven’t been in school since July, I’ve only now realized how much I miss it. I don’t make time for it now, and you really have to sit yourself down and think about it and do it. As much as I could, when I wasn’t filming, I would go to school. When filming, I would send all of my work back to be marked by my teachers. As I got older, though, it was harder to slip in and out.
Blasberg: Were you accepted as a kid in school? Just your average muggle?
Watson: When I moved to my new school, it took a while for people to realize that I was a real person, that I’m normal. Basically, they got bored of me after a couple of weeks. I didn’t get bullied or pushed against lockers or anything. The school that I went to was very academic, and the girls were very focused on their grades- they had ambitions of their own.
Blasberg: Do you really want to be a nerd again? You want to spend hours in the library, wearing dirty clothes, and lugging around an ugly backpack instead of a Chanel bag?
Watson: Yes. I want to be stressed about deadlines. I want to cycle around campus on a little bicycle. I miss the smell of books. I miss my pencil case and ring binders. I want it all back.
Blasberg: Seeing you on the set with that giant Hermione hair was a trip. I bet you’ll be happy to see those extensions go. Did the film make any other changes?
Watson: Hermione was meant to have big brown bushy hair and buck teeth. The bushy hair that you saw was obtained by loads of back-combing and teasing, but at the beginning they did try to give me false teeth, which I couldn’t speak with. So the buck teeth had to go.
Blasberg: Looking back now, that decision was actually quit fortuitous.
Watson: I know. And they tried to give Dan contacts- because Harry has green eyes and Dan has blue eyes. But, again, like I suffered with fake buck teeth, putting contact lenses in an 11-year-old boy’s eyes every day wasn’t easy.
Blasberg: But these are small details.
Watson: Yes, but I probably shouldn’t be saying them. Everyone seems to have forgotten these kinds of inaccuracies, ad the now the fans will be going, “Oh, yeah, they did such a rubbish job.” These are those fans-the ones who come up to me and ask me wildly specific questions about the books that I don’t know…And I’m pretty good at Potter trivia.
Blasberg: Tell the truth: Would you really be okay with this one part defining your whole acting career? Like, earlier in the car, I told you about Mayim Bialik, the girl who played Blossom on the hit TV show in America in the 90’s, and then gave everything up to study neuroscience at UCLA. You’re really okay with only being Hermione if you find something like to do more at a university?
Watson: I can honestly see myself both ways. Option one being that I go to university and go down a different path. But there are things I love about this industry too.
Blasberg: It’s a hard question to answer now.
Watson: I’ve always juggled things, so I don’t feel like I have to chose at all. It’s not a binary thing. It’s not one or the other. You can make a film in 6 weeks- just not a Harry Potter film.
Blasberg: You’re not the first actress to go to college. DO you think, if you continue in film, you’ll have trouble making the transition from Hermione to other roles?
Watson: It will be hard for people to detach me from Harry Potter. I’m so identified with Hermione, and people have watched me grow up in that role. I think it’s difficult to choose the right parts, and I think it will be hard to pick the next role after this one. But I like the challenge.
Blasberg: Until then, are you still happy going to a film set every day, instead of doing the whole typical teenage things like football games, dance clubs, and Sunday dinners?
Watson: Of coarse there have been times when I’ve thought it was unfair that I didn’t make it to a friend’s birthday or a sleepover because I had different responsibilities than most people my age. But I wouldn’t change it for anything. It’s made me who I am, and there are so many things that have come from it.
Blasberg: You’re probably the only 19-year-old girl in London who will be in bed at 9 p.m. this weekend, though.
Watson: Tell me about it. Having a bedtime is hard to explain to my friends. Most of my friends are on their gap year right now, so they’re in Thailand at a moon party dancing on a beach and getting drunk and being young.
Blasberg: Are all your young friends actors and entertainment people too?
Watson- It’s a real mix. My roommate is a model, but most of my other friends are working at bars and clubs and on their gap year. A lot of my friends work at this club back in Oxford called the Kukui, so if I want to catch up with them, I have to go sit in the cloakroom with them for a couple of hours.
Blasberg-: I like the idea you’re content to be good and go home early, because you’re aware of the greater importance . Like, if you go out tonight and show up late tomorrow, you’re not messing up your career or your image- you’re screwing with something much bigger. I’ve met young people in similar situations-early fame, lots of money, easy access, temptation at their fingertips. But you’ve been responsible and decidedly mature. It’s admirable.
Watson-: Harry Potter has inspired so many people. I get these amazing letters from mothers whose children began to love reading because of these books, or a heartbreaking tale from an ill person who pulled through with Harry Potter. I meet people every day who are genuinely filled with excitement of these characters- that’s totally what makes the 5:45 a.m. pickup okay.
Blasberg: Besides, Ems, if you screwed around with Hermione, you wouldn’t be able to leave this apartment.
Watson: Can you imagine? [shivers] I would have to become a hermit.
__________________
credit to Jopley
Boston, Bikes, and Photos
Someone else was out taking photos on her bike! I like her graphical jacket, it's cooler today but she still looks cheerful.
Cycling with Kiddos
While we are nowhere near that yet, I'm starting to put some thought into what will be required to continue cycling once little people enter our lives.
One of my most cherished memories is skiing at Tahoe when I was about 5 years old. My dad made a piece of pie with his skis, and held me as I made a piece of pie with mine. We went so fast, the wind rushed through my hair, and I was still warm. The thrill of an adventure, protected by the strong bulk of my father's body, was a highlight of my early childhood.
So you'll understand why I just adore this dad and daughter, out on their adventure. He'd just pointed something out to her, I'd love to have had that kind of time each morning with my dad.
The law in MA prohibits babies under the age of one on single person bikes. So what to do for that first year?
The bike trailer is an ever-popular option. However this photo, taken at the same place on the same morning as the dad above, illustrates my concerns about a trailer:
The child is just so far behind, so hard to see/hear, and those trucks out there so big! I think this may work better in suburban environments than in the big city.
A girlfriend who is pregnant has told me she's going to get a cargo bike. This makes a lot of sense, if you have somewhere to park it. How do Europeans park these things? On the street? What about theft and rain? Bakfiets and Madsen Cargo Bikes seem to be the most popular. I think that Bakfiets might be better for infants, and the Madsen better for children, but I'd welcome additional data. Where is the second-hand market for these bikes? I've never seen them for sale.
Once they are big enough, there are infinite options with an extracycle, tandem, or Trail-a-bike. There's even a jumpseat for my husband's Brompton! (which would be good for the storage issue)
But what to do for that first year?
One of my most cherished memories is skiing at Tahoe when I was about 5 years old. My dad made a piece of pie with his skis, and held me as I made a piece of pie with mine. We went so fast, the wind rushed through my hair, and I was still warm. The thrill of an adventure, protected by the strong bulk of my father's body, was a highlight of my early childhood.
So you'll understand why I just adore this dad and daughter, out on their adventure. He'd just pointed something out to her, I'd love to have had that kind of time each morning with my dad.
The law in MA prohibits babies under the age of one on single person bikes. So what to do for that first year?
The bike trailer is an ever-popular option. However this photo, taken at the same place on the same morning as the dad above, illustrates my concerns about a trailer:
The child is just so far behind, so hard to see/hear, and those trucks out there so big! I think this may work better in suburban environments than in the big city.
A girlfriend who is pregnant has told me she's going to get a cargo bike. This makes a lot of sense, if you have somewhere to park it. How do Europeans park these things? On the street? What about theft and rain? Bakfiets and Madsen Cargo Bikes seem to be the most popular. I think that Bakfiets might be better for infants, and the Madsen better for children, but I'd welcome additional data. Where is the second-hand market for these bikes? I've never seen them for sale.
Once they are big enough, there are infinite options with an extracycle, tandem, or Trail-a-bike. There's even a jumpseat for my husband's Brompton! (which would be good for the storage issue)
But what to do for that first year?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Meet American Actress: Femi Emiola
Femi Emiola
Femi Emiola is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the TV series Wicked Wicked Games and in the web series "If Looks Could Kill".
Biography
Early lifeFemi Emiola was born in Iowa City, Iowa to a Filipina mother and a Nigerian father, then both PhD candidates at Iowa State University. Femi lived her early life in the Philippines and in Nigeria before returning to the United States as a teenager. "Femi" is prononuced "F-eh-mi" and means "love me" or "marry me" in Yoruba. Both her parents are chemists.She trained in Theatre Arts at Iowa State University, and studied in New York City with esteemed director and acting teacher, Wynn Handman, a former colleague of Sanford Meisner and artistic director/co-founder of The American Place Theatre in New York City.
Career
Emiola
made her film debut in an award-winning short film "The Living Silence". Her performance in the film helped garner the filmmaker, Tanya Steele, a Directors Guild East Coast Student Filmmaker Award.Between 2006 and 2007, Emiola played "Lani Walker", the assistant to vindictive and psychotic Blythe Hunter famously portrayed by Tatum O'Neal in the My Network TV telenovelaWicked Wicked Games, which premiered on December 6, 2006 and aired to completion (65 episodes) in March 2007.
Emiola has also appeared on the television shows ER, Ghost Whisperer, Scrubs, Las Vegas, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, and The Practice.In 2000, Emiola posed for the artist Meredith Bergmann and her profile became the foundation for Bergmann's Phillis Wheatley, which was part of the Boston Women's Memorial, unveiled in 2003 on Commonwealth Avenue Mall in Boston, MA. The sculpture also included Lucy Stone and Abigail Adams and is grafted from bronze and granite and is Bergmann's largest public commission.In June 2008, Emiola became the face of an innovative marketing campaign by Toyota for the Toyota Camry.
The campaign for the Toyota Camry launched on June 9, 2008 targeting affluent African-American women ages 25-40. There are no television commercials, but instead there is an interactive website, Iflookscouldkill.com, which includes a video series and an online game. The $5 million campaign centers on the website and a six-episode video series, promoted as "where espionage and high fashion collide." The target audience for the campaign is African-American women with an annual income of $70,000 and up.
The video series stars Emiola as "Bianca Turner" a fashion designer and Toyota Camry owner who becomes unwittingly involved in an espionage plot. Visitors can navigate within scenes and play along, picking up clues to assist Bianca as she tries to solve the mystery. Print and online ads on BET.com and Essence.com also support the campaign which runs June 9 through July 27, 2008. 42 Entertainment in Pasadena, California, developed the game and the site. Burrell Communications, Chicago, is Camry's agency.
Personal Life
Femi married Canadian musician and Internet professional, Kevin Edwards in 2006. They live in Los Angeles.
Femi Emiola is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the TV series Wicked Wicked Games and in the web series "If Looks Could Kill".
Biography
Early lifeFemi Emiola was born in Iowa City, Iowa to a Filipina mother and a Nigerian father, then both PhD candidates at Iowa State University. Femi lived her early life in the Philippines and in Nigeria before returning to the United States as a teenager. "Femi" is prononuced "F-eh-mi" and means "love me" or "marry me" in Yoruba. Both her parents are chemists.She trained in Theatre Arts at Iowa State University, and studied in New York City with esteemed director and acting teacher, Wynn Handman, a former colleague of Sanford Meisner and artistic director/co-founder of The American Place Theatre in New York City.
Career
Emiola
made her film debut in an award-winning short film "The Living Silence". Her performance in the film helped garner the filmmaker, Tanya Steele, a Directors Guild East Coast Student Filmmaker Award.Between 2006 and 2007, Emiola played "Lani Walker", the assistant to vindictive and psychotic Blythe Hunter famously portrayed by Tatum O'Neal in the My Network TV telenovelaWicked Wicked Games, which premiered on December 6, 2006 and aired to completion (65 episodes) in March 2007.Emiola has also appeared on the television shows ER, Ghost Whisperer, Scrubs, Las Vegas, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, and The Practice.In 2000, Emiola posed for the artist Meredith Bergmann and her profile became the foundation for Bergmann's Phillis Wheatley, which was part of the Boston Women's Memorial, unveiled in 2003 on Commonwealth Avenue Mall in Boston, MA. The sculpture also included Lucy Stone and Abigail Adams and is grafted from bronze and granite and is Bergmann's largest public commission.In June 2008, Emiola became the face of an innovative marketing campaign by Toyota for the Toyota Camry.
The campaign for the Toyota Camry launched on June 9, 2008 targeting affluent African-American women ages 25-40. There are no television commercials, but instead there is an interactive website, Iflookscouldkill.com, which includes a video series and an online game. The $5 million campaign centers on the website and a six-episode video series, promoted as "where espionage and high fashion collide." The target audience for the campaign is African-American women with an annual income of $70,000 and up.
The video series stars Emiola as "Bianca Turner" a fashion designer and Toyota Camry owner who becomes unwittingly involved in an espionage plot. Visitors can navigate within scenes and play along, picking up clues to assist Bianca as she tries to solve the mystery. Print and online ads on BET.com and Essence.com also support the campaign which runs June 9 through July 27, 2008. 42 Entertainment in Pasadena, California, developed the game and the site. Burrell Communications, Chicago, is Camry's agency.
Personal Life
Femi married Canadian musician and Internet professional, Kevin Edwards in 2006. They live in Los Angeles.
Miss World 2001: Agbani Darego
Ibiagbanidokibubo 'Agbani' Asenite Darego (born 1983), is a Nigerian model, best known for being the first black African to be crowned Miss World in 2001.Darego hails from Abonnema, Rivers, and was born into a family of eight children. At ten, Darego was sent to boarding school in a bid to shield her from her mother who had breast cancer. Darego's mother died two years later, and her daughter has spoken of how the loss prepared her for the future.
As a teenager, Darego longed to be a model. Although her conservative father was against the idea, she entered the M-Net Face of Africamodelling competition, but failed to make it past the first round. She achieved greater success when she was crowned Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria in 2001. Contrary to popular belief, Darego did not replace Valerie Peterside after the latter was dethroned - Peterside had won Miss Nigeria. Darego managed to divide her time between her official duties with her education at the University of Port Harcourt where she was studying Computer Science, and she represented Nigeria in the 2001 Miss Universe competition, held in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. She placed among the top 10 semi-finalists, finishing seventh. She was the only black semi-finalist that year - and the only finalist to wear a maillot swimsuit
Miss World
In November 2001, Darego traveled to South Africa to compete in the Miss World competition, beating Miss Scotland and Miss Aruba in the final round. Her victory in the pageant, hosted by American talk show host Jerry Springer, was widely welcomed in her home country, and her reign as MBGN was continued by Ann Suinner.Her one year tenure included goodwill trips and scheduled appearances on behalf of the pageant.
In addition, the organizers of the competition began preparations to host Miss World 2002 in Nigeria.One week before the 2002 pageant, erupted in Kaduna and other cities in northern Nigeria after small protests against the competition inflamed simmering religious tension between Muslims and Christians. Several hundred died in the violence that ensued. The 2002 Miss World competition was moved from Nigeria to the United Kingdom, where it was staged in London that December.
Post-pageant career
Darego left the University of Port Harcourt after her reign as Miss World ended in 2002. She is signed to Next Model Management, and is currently pursuing a modelling career in Europe.She has modelled for L'Oreal cosmetics.In 2006, it was reported that Darego had posed topless at a fashion show; her actions caused an outrage in Nigeria
Meet Nigerian singer-songwriter: Bukola Elemide "Aṣa"
Aṣa (pronounced "Asha") (born in 1982) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and recording artist. Her stage name "Aṣa" means "Hawk" in Yoruba
Early life
Born Bukola Elemide, Aṣa was born in Paris, France to Nigerian parents. She was two years old when her family returned to live in Nigeria. Aṣa grew up in Lagos, in the south-western part of Nigeria. She states that the city is "buzzing with energy but also home to a deep-rooted spirituality. Islam thrives shoulder to shoulder with Christianity in an atmosphere of tolerance, and the turbulent city moves endlessly in an infernal and yet harmonious ballet of love and hate, laughter and violence, poverty and wealth."
However twenty years later Aṣa returned to Paris, which is where her life as an artist took wing. Aṣa was twelve when her mother sent her to one of the best schools in Nigeria. But educational excellence had a bitter taste : five years of studies and hardship. When she came home, she discovered Erykah Badu,D'Angelo, Raphael Saadiq, Lauryn Hill, Femi Kuti and Angelique Kidjo, in whose footprints she dreamt of following.
At 18, Asa was very familiar with frustration. The university was on strike, the choirs were snubbing her. During these frustrating times, Asa used to lock herself in her room and sing; this she said was very comforting. Nevertheless, she managed to get her voice heard on a few radio talent shows and her first applause brought her boundless pleasure. She then signed up, in secret, for the Peter King’s School of Music and learnt to play the guitar in 6 months
Background
Aṣa was the only girl in the family and had to share her parents with her three brothers. At a tender age she began to look after the house during her father and mother’s frequent absences. That is when Aṣa started to sing. The desire to sing came to her and didn’t go away, carving out a permanent place in her soul. She preferred singing to talking, improvising endlessly until her mother made her stop.
Over the years her father had built up a fine collection of records featuring soul classics and Nigerian music, including Marvin Gaye, Fela Kuti, Bob Marley,Aretha Franklin, Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey and Lagbaja and went on to draw inspiration from them. Aṣa said "I was a tomboy and when I was a teenager I became very shy because people made fun of me in my own way, I was already attracting attention ! I got in the habit of never doing anything like everyone else. People didn’t understand my low-pitched deep voice, the choirs didn’t want anything to do with me. I had to get to church first if I was to have any chance of getting near the mike"
In 2004 Aṣa met her manager, Janet, who introduced her to Cobhams Emmanuel Asuquo, who in turn became her musical partner. He enabled Aṣa, the free spirit, to find her bearings : songs in English and Yoruba, music falling somewhere between pop and soul, inspired by her musical heritage — with particular care paid to the melodies — and reflecting the feeling she puts into it. Her texts talk about her country, the things in life, the things in her life, all delivered with feigned naivete and real irony. She states "I like writing or thinking about my texts on the bus, or the molue, as we call it. 49 seats, 99 passengers standing up, as Fela described it. Everyone’s squashed up together and mini-dramas break out all the time. And, at the end of the day, we still manage to laugh, that’s where our strength lies..."
It was at this stage of her life that Aṣa finally returned to Paris. This was her chance to test out her talent on the French musical scene, playing with artists such as the Nubians, Manu Dibango, Doctor L and Tony Allen. In the meantime, back in Nigeria, her first single, Eye Adaba, then Jailer, were beginning to get airtime. MTV chose her as the ambassador for South Africa. Her popularity became big, that when she came back to Nigeria she opened for Akon, John Legend, Beyonce and Snoop Dogg amongst others.
Aṣa soon signed to the 'Naive label'. Partnered by Cobhams, and with the new involvement of Christophe Dupouy, she produced a magnificent debut album, ASA. R&b rubs up against pop, with reggae also making an appearance on 'Fire On The Mountain', the first track released from the album, an impertinent and barely-disguised metaphor for an ignorant and indifferent world. "Jailer", another highlight of the album, reinterprets the old adage “you reap what you sow”. This emblematic song with its irresistible refrain opens the album by denouncing modern slavery in all its forms.Aṣa's song Eye Adaba featured in the 3rd episode of series 3 of the E4's teen tv show, Skins, in which congolese youngster Thomas is forced to return to Congo from Bristol, where he was living in a flat owned by Johnny White, and made new friends in Pandora, Effy and the rest of the cast. The song is used for the scene in which Thomas is told be pack his bags by his mother and he is upset at having to leave.
Track listing
"Jailer"
"360"
"Bibanke"
"Subway"
"Fire on the Mountain"
"Eye Adaba""No One Knows"
"Awe""Peace"
"So Beautiful"
"Iba"
Meet The Sexy Nigerian Model: Oluchi Onweagba
Oluchi Onweagba (born 1982) is a Nigerian model. She had come into modeling after a family friend had persuaded her to enter M-Net'sFace of Africa competition. She ended up winning the competition.
Biography
Onweagba's first name in her native Igbo language means "God's Work". Her father was a civil servant, and her mother was a nurse. She and her siblings (two brothers and a sister) lived on Ayilara Street, Ojuelegba, in Surulere, a low-income area of the sprawling Lagos (theNigerian commercial capital) metropolis. She spent her high school years as a good student, and enjoyed playing tennis and ping pong. Supposedly, she was discovered while she was selling bread on the streets of Lagos in order to make ends meet.
In August 2005, she married her longtime companion, Italian fashion designer Luca Orlandi. On April 25 2007 their son Ugochukwu was born.
Discovery and Breakthrough
Oluchi Onweagba was urged by a family friend to enter into the M-Net Face of Africa preliminary screening at the M-Net office in Victoria Island, Lagos which she scaled through. The agency immediately groomed her to be one of Nigeria's entrants for a model competition, the M-Net Face of Africa (now called the Nokia Face of Africa). This despite the fact that, growing up, she had maintained a relative ignorance towards fashion andmodeling. With the support of her family and friends, she decided to compete in the inaugural edition of the Face of Africa in 1998.
This was the first-ever continent-wide model competition, as opposed to a mere beauty pageant, and was organized by the South African subscription television channel M-Net in collaboration with Elite Model Management. With her slim, tall figure, and her natural beauty, she captivated the judges, and she handily won the competition. She was just seventeen years old. Elite Model Management awarded Onweagba a three-year modeling contract, and a whirlwind life as a highly-sought-after fashion model began.
Career Trajectory
Moving to New York City, where she is currently still living, she began to make an impact. Onweagba graced the covers of Italian Vogue, i-D, ELLE, Untold, and Surface, and she also was featured in Nylon, Marie Claire, Allure, and other national editions of Vogue around the world. She also became the face of the campaigns for Gianfranco Ferre, Victoria's Secret, Gap, Express, Banana Republic, and Ann Taylor. Onweagba's runway experience has been with John Galliano, Christian Dior, Costume National, Chanel, and Giorgio Armani, amongst others, in London, Milan, Tokyo and Paris.
Oluchi
Onweagba has worked with such high-caliber photographers as Steven Meisel, Nick Knight, and Patrick Demarchelier.As her career took off, she did not forget her roots and attempted to give back to society. As one of the most high profile international models of Nigerian origin, she tries to serve as a role model for other aspiring talents in the west African country, especially young girls. She volunteers her time and her image for such NGOs as LEAP Africa (an entrepreneurship incubator) and NIPRO. She also is continuing her higher education, having studied for an associate's degree in the New York City educational system.After her three-year contract with Elite expired, she signed with DNA Model Management. A highlight of her career so far was when she was featured in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue four times, from 2005 to 2008.In 2008, Oluchi Onweagba launched a modelling agency in South Africa, OModel Africa, with offices in Johanesburg and recently in Cape Town. The 2008 winner of M-Net Face of Africa, Kate Tachie-Menson, was awarded a US $50,000 modelling contract by OModel Africa.In 2009, Onweagba is expected to host the inaugural West Africa's Next Top Model.
BMX and Garden Trellis
OK, so that's probably not what he actually used to make this tall bike, but it's a bit reminiscent, non? I think that's a headlight in front, how awesome is that?
Soak Up the Sunshine
It's a gorgeous day here in Cambridge (finally!) and we're all out on bikes, soaking up the wonderful sunshine. It feels so good!
Monday, April 27, 2009
Fuschia Schwinn
I see this pretty pink Schwinn near MIT all the time. I love the chrome fenders with the strong fuschia color. It may be a smaller bike, but it's got a grown-up girly look.
Denim Dilemmas?
I've quickly put some looks together all revolving around this summers key piece - the frayed acid wash denim hotpants! 
Look 1
Blazer, Eifel Tower Crop top, multirow gold necklace, platform heels, gold wing belt
Casual/Evening
The high waist from the hotpants and the crop top shows enough stomach without being distasteful and for those who aren't one for flashing! The blazer gives the outfit smarter definitions whilst the skyscraper heels will give you legs like elevens!
Add gold accessories which will compliment the blue tones to the outfit, and not to mention tone UP the bling bling.
Look 1
Blazer, Eifel Tower Crop top, multirow gold necklace, platform heels, gold wing belt
Casual/Evening
The high waist from the hotpants and the crop top shows enough stomach without being distasteful and for those who aren't one for flashing! The blazer gives the outfit smarter definitions whilst the skyscraper heels will give you legs like elevens!
Add gold accessories which will compliment the blue tones to the outfit, and not to mention tone UP the bling bling.
Look 2
Straw hat, bustier corset top, turquoise platform, white studded belt
Evening/Beach
The fitted floral top will show off your figure perfectly with the shorts, wear tucked in with waist belt around waistband for a night time look with killer heels!!
Add floppy beach hat to accessorise for pool-side chic!
Straw hat, bustier corset top, turquoise platform, white studded belt
Evening/Beach
The fitted floral top will show off your figure perfectly with the shorts, wear tucked in with waist belt around waistband for a night time look with killer heels!!
Add floppy beach hat to accessorise for pool-side chic!
Look 3
Daytime/Beach
The baggy vest in 80s fluro style goes perfectly with this holiday staple piece. Add the Green and Gold belt to ultimise the clashing colours!!
The heart shaped glasses adds more retro to this look and statement fringed sandals create an overall 80s outfit your mothers would be proud of.
(all items available at topshop)
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friendly Feline Faces...
We all know the 80s is back in a big way but enter the return of the NOVELTY SWEATSHIRTS!!
The animal sweater has made a comeback for autumn/winter and roared the runway with graphic patterns at Eley Kishimoto, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Furry with Miss sixty, Paul+Joe, Zero +Maria Cornejo and my personal favourite Sparkly sequined version via Manish Arora....
For more than 20 years Mariuccia Mandelli designed for Krizia. Each year she featured a different animal in her collection and 1981 was the year of the cat!
Will you adopt the face on shirt look?
The animal sweater has made a comeback for autumn/winter and roared the runway with graphic patterns at Eley Kishimoto, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Furry with Miss sixty, Paul+Joe, Zero +Maria Cornejo and my personal favourite Sparkly sequined version via Manish Arora....
For more than 20 years Mariuccia Mandelli designed for Krizia. Each year she featured a different animal in her collection and 1981 was the year of the cat!
Will you adopt the face on shirt look?
Nike and Nylon Collaboration...
Nylon Magazine and Nike Sportswear have collaborated together to make a collection of 'kicks'. They come in a selection of Day-Glo colours and feature the nylon magazine logo on the nylon tongue of the trainers!
In the Nylon Magazine May 2009 issue they are showcasing the collaboration with a photoshoot involving Peaches Geldof, Goldierocks and more of the nylon family!!!
Take a look at the making of the photoshoot here...
In the Nylon Magazine May 2009 issue they are showcasing the collaboration with a photoshoot involving Peaches Geldof, Goldierocks and more of the nylon family!!!
Take a look at the making of the photoshoot here...
Friday, April 24, 2009
Muma Gee Denies Romancing Timaya‘s Manager
Daring and pretty singer, Muma Gee, has made news many times.
Her music may not have been as hot as Beyonce‘s, but Muma is one babe who hardly gets annoyed.
She is, however, not happy over a gist that is going on in the entertainment circle. It is being alleged that Muma has found a new beau in the person of Timaya‘s manager.
Busybodies claimed that Muma had made Timaya‘s Alausa, Lagos abode her second home, as she was always there to frolick with the crooner‘s manager.
But speaking to Life and Beat, Muma denied dating the guy in question. ”I heard and read that story and it got me so angry. What kind of nonsense is this? Timaya is from Bayelsa and I am from Rivers. Is it a bad thing if I go and visit him?
“Why can’t people say something positive for once instead of looking for bad things to talk about or write?” she queried.
Concerning the alegation that they kissed in public, Muma fumed, ”You know me so well; do I look like somebody who would be kissing in public?
“I don’t always react when I read or hear negative stories about me, but this particular story really got me angry.
“The guy in question is just a young boy. If I were to date, why wouldn’t I go for Timaya instead of his manager?”
Star Quest Winner: The Pulse
The legendary Robert Nesta Marley, popularly called Bob Marley would have been smiling in his grave last Saturday night as a group of six music starters which goes by the name The Pulse turned one of his popular classics – Redemption Song into a party hit.
The Pulse, one the three finalists of this year’s edition of Star Quest, the music talent hunt sponsored by Star Lager was no doubt the most popular group given the reaction of the audience anytime they were called upon to perform but, their rendition of the song, literally set the live audience and indeed many viewers across the nation on fire as the Planet One Entertainment Centre erupted in excitement.
The group kept the audience made of the “who is who” in Nigeria’s entertainment industry including returnee Ras kimono on their feet dancing and clapping to the beats and the superlative performance of the group’s lead singers- Dubem Ochokwu and Obianuju Udeh. The group garnered over 99,000 votes from an appreciative nation to win this years competition, beating the second paced band-Xpression with over 84,000 votes.
It was arguably the performance of this duo and may be their original composition titled- “So Tay” that gave them the crown. The Pulse takes over from The Diamonds which won the competition last year and have are become proud winners of N3.6m cash, N7.5m recording contract, a mini van, one year guaranteed accommodation in Lagos as well as appearances as performing artistes at all star lager sponsored events in 2009.
Having eliminated three of the original six bands on Wednesday night-J-Nutia,100 Degrees and C.N.R.G.Y, the 21 day contest came to an unprecedented climax last Saturday with the three remaining bands-Nu Soundz, Xpression and The Pulse battling for the trophy.
The winning group’s outstanding performance has no doubt taken the music talent hunt programme to the next level given the overwhelming response of the viewing public.
For the first time since the competition was launched in 2002, no one particular band has been so popularly accepted like the 2009 winning band.
The Pulse band made up of Dubem Ochokwu, Babatunde Omommeji, Obianuju Udeh, Moses Philips, Charles Nkamiang and Asuquo Okon seem to have had their destiny made right from their first performance at Star Fame Land . Performance after performance, they gradually established their authority as the band to beat and the result as given by the voting public was more or less unexpected. 36 youngsters were selected from thousands of budding talents who turned up for the audition across the six regions of the nation.
Having settled down to the real competition, viewers were presented with the formation of six bands and their performances which ranged from traditional hi-life to acapella, a remix of some popular indigenous and foreign classics.Launched in 2002 with the objective of producing the biggest music band in Nigeria,
Star Quest is designed to compliment and support Star’s musical platform and enable the brand to reach and connect to its consumers all across Nigeria.
It is a music talent hunt where contestants from all over the country are given the opportunity to become the next stars in the Nigerian music scene and win a coveted recording contract, a mini van and cash prizes, amongst others.
Through the Looking Glass...
All things holiday continue to inspire me as i find an amazing editorial called 'Through the looking glass' by lula magazine. Showcasing many different designer sunglasses, all decorated with the fab illustrations from Jo Ratcliffe.
Halle Berry Auction to Benefit Victims of Domestic Violence
Halle Berry has always been candid about her past experiences with domestic violence. And it was that experience that led her to become a supporter of the Jenesse Center, a Los Angeles based non profit organization that provides support to domestic violence victims for the past several years. Via press release:
“Academy Award-winning actress and beauty icon Halle Berry will auction off a unique, hand-carved rose gold cuff bracelet this week to show her support for families dealing with the devastating effects of domestic violence. As of April 15th, consumers can place bids through CharityBuzz for the chance to own this signature piece. The cuff bracelet was designed exclusively for Halle Berry to wear in the advertising campaign for her debut fragrance, Halle by Halle Berry. Net proceeds generated by the auction will be donated to the Jenesse Center, a domestic violence intervention program that Ms. Berry has supported for many years.
“The Jenesse Center is an organization that is very close to my heart," said Halle Berry. "Their work makes a tremendous difference in the lives of women and children and I am proud to support such a worthy cause by auctioning off this beautiful bracelet.”
Designed by Gara Danielle, this stunning cuff bracelet was inspired by Halle Berry's natural beauty and was designed specifically for Halle to wear on set at the making of her fragrance campaign in Ohahu, Hawaii. Now anyone can have the opportunity to own a replica of the bracelet and support this great cause by bidding on charitybuzz.com. Made from 14K rose gold plate over sterling silver, this adjustable cuff is valued at $4,000.
The Jenesse Center is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1980 and provides help to victims of domestic violence with a comprehensive centralized base of support through facilities, education and health programs, case management, and legal services. The overall goal of the Jenesse Center is to change the pattern of abuse in the lives of women and children.”
On April 19th, the Jenesse Center held its annual Silver Rose Gala and auction in Beverly Hills:
Elva Lima, Guest, David A. Paschal, Halle Berry, Karen Earl and Kathy Koelle attend the 2009 Jenesse Silver Rose Gala & Auction at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills California.
R&B Star Chilli to Host Event Honouring African American Women for Mother's Day
Activities Include Donation to Women’s Organizations and Spa Event with Chilli from TLC
Via BLACK PR WIRE, ATLANTA, April 22, 2009 – Dasani is bringing feel-good refreshment to African American women through a Mother’s Day program that celebrates good work in the community and refreshes women with style and beauty experiences. Chilli from the Grammy award-winning R&B group TLC is spokesperson for the campaign.
On April 24, Dasani will be giving hundreds of women complementary spa services at the fabulous Townhouse Spa in New York City. Hosted by Chilli, the Dasani “Ultimate Style and Beauty Lounge” will offer these women the opportunity to recharge in a relaxing atmosphere designed to provide a quick escape from the daily challenges of life. To round out the spa experience, L’Oreal Paris will provide beauty makeovers and SoftSheen-Carson will provide hairstyles and trims for the women.
Dasani also will be mixing some good deeds into this uplifting day when it recognizes Girls Inc.and Dress for Success for their support of women through a variety of positive, image-building programs. Debra L. Lee, chairman and CEO of BET Holdings, Inc., and Bethann Hardison, a legend in the fashion industry and founder of Black Girls Coalition, also will be honored for their work in fostering programs for young women.
“This Mother’s Day program reminds women that the simple moments are often the most refreshing and offers them the rewards and much-needed attention they deserve, said Yolanda White, assistant vice president, African American Marketing, Coca-Cola North America. “With a great tasting water like Dasani, women can maintain their active lifestyles while also balancing their rigorous schedules.”
The program continues the dialogue with spokesperson Chilli delivering a message of health and hydration through print, radio, and in-store advertising, and inviting moms to visithttp://www.dasanistyle.com/ for a chance to win a VIP spa experience with the star.
The new website also features the latest fashion trends for spring from Chilli, including the coolest accessories, hot new make-up, hair trends, hair care tips and coupons for products. “This exciting program brings to life the refreshing benefits of drinking Dasani with style and vitality. This is yet another of the many initiatives on tap for 2009 that will connect consumers to our brands through real, relevant experiences,” said White.
****While we're on the subject of beauty and giving, Karyn at The Fabulous Giver blog has been selected by Johnson & Johnson to host a body care cause party in Chicago. The nationwide initiative, which launched in NY with R&B singer Ashanti, is using beauty bloggers to celebrate girlfriends and make a difference. Read more here.
Meet Dj Zeez "O4Kasibe"
DJ Zeez’s hit song O4kasibe threw up as much controversy as it fetched him instant fame among millions of lovers of Nigerian hip hop music. He tells ‘NONYE IWUAGWU the real meaning of 04Kasibe and why he has been dogged by scandals.
Most people don’t know your real name
My name is Kingsley Elikpo. I am from Mbano in Imo State. Actually, I would call myself a ‘mixed breed’. My mum is Yoruba and my dad is Igbo. But I was born and brought up in Lagos. That is basically why I can speak Yoruba very fluently. There was a time when I had to attend school in Owerri because my parents wanted me to understand Igbo language.
You are called DJ Zeez. Were you a disc jockey?
Yes. I started in the industry as a disc jockey when I was about 17 years.
How come you were doing that at such an age?
I liked it. I was a science student when I was in secondary school. I was attracted to the technical part of music. I wanted to know about the engineering part and the whole connection thing.That was what prompted me to become a disc jockey. It wasn’t because I didn’t have any other thing to do. My parents didn’t frown at what I was doing because I was doing well in school.
I didn’t start it for commercial purposes, at first. I was just doing it in the house; I would get songs and mix them together. But, in time, my friends got to know that I was good at it and they kept encouraging me. That was when I decided to get bigger equipment and turned it into a business.
So your parents didn’t mind when you finally turned it into a business?
No, they didn’t mind.
At what point did you decide to leave disc jockeying for music?
Some friends of mine formed a group called Xzist. At the time, I was still a DJ. I would always DJ for them back then whenever they had small shows around. With time, I started listening to songs and I started miming songs as well. They felt I should join the group. I joined the group and that made me the fourth member of the group.
You guys eventually broke up?
Yes. You know, musical groups in Nigeria hardly last. One person may be having one problem or the other and another person would be having a different problem. As a result, in 2004 I decided to go solo. I started doing my own thing.
Was that when you released O4Kasibe?
No. That was not my first single. My first single was title Orin.
But it was not successful.
No, it wasn’t. Remember that I just started then. I didn’t know anybody in the industry. I just did it on my own. By 2005, I came out with Same Ni, which was successful. In terms of profits, it wasn’t really successful. But it brought me popularity. If you mention DJ Zeez today, people would relate me with the guy that did Same Ni. The song was nominated for Channel O Music award in 2007.
The song made me popular, but it didn’t get me the money I wanted.
Finally you came out with O4kasibe.
Yes. That was towards the end of last year. I released it as a single. But the album dropped early this year.
What is O4kasibe?
It is a slang that was common among my neighbourhood pals in Bariga in those days. They used it to show respect to the people they honoured. They use the slang when they want to hail the person. The concept is that the ‘4’ in the word represents the four cardinal points- north, east, west and south. When you say O4kasibe, it means that you are making a positive impact on people globally, not just where you are.
But some people say the song literally means, ‘You have lost your head’
That is the controversy around the song. But it is the artiste that should say what he means in his song and defend that meaning. But I don’t think it is a good idea for me to come up and decide that the song I want to do for my fans is to start cursing them.
Those who understand the actual meaning of the song like it so much and you see them go crazy when it is playing. The meaning of the song is affecting it and that is why it is felt everywhere. We get all sorts of calls from different parts of the world. You can ask my manager, Tunde. They keep inviting us for shows and events.
We learnt the song was banned by Nigeria Broadcasting Commission?
That is a big lie. I even heard the song on two different radio stations when I was coming now. I believe if you ban a song on air, no radio or TV station plays it. It is just a rumour. I believe people are saying this because they are yet to understand the real meaning of O4kasibe.
What would you call yourself, a disc jockey or a musician?
Right now, I am just a music producer. I am also a writer and a performing artiste. I have left the disc jockey aspect because it requires daily practice. You get called up for shows and events in different towns. Then again, I am being called to perform in another town as a musician and all that. I simply had to reduce stress by just sticking to production and singing alone.
So I can say I am a producer right now. I have produced several songs like Party Rider by 9ice. Recently, I am working on a couple of songs in Weird MC’s forthcoming album.
Is it true that O4kasibe fetched you a Cadillac?
That is true. It was courtesy of the record label, Edlyne Records. It is a foreign record label owned by a Nigerian. He heard my song over the internet. That was even before O4kasibe was formally released. We started communicating even before we met for the first time. It was just recently that we met each other. He had bought the car for me before we met
At first, he thought we were just Nigerian scammers that put songs on the internet. By the time he felt the impact of the song, he was tripped.
Your profile is rising and you are being linked with many scandals.
Yes. What more can I say. A lot of things are actually attached to success. The best thing is to hear from the horse’s mouth. A lot of people who write things about me are not even opportune to see me one-on-one or to ask me for my own side of the story. They don’t even bother to confirm their stories before publishing them.
Is it true that you had an accident while driving home half-drunk in the cadillac?
I wasn’t involved in any accident at all. There is nothing like that. No such thing will ever happen by His grace.
We also learnt that you are involved in internet fraud...
I have never been involved in anything that is close to ‘yahoo yahoo’ in my life. This Yahoo thing is not like today’s issue. The problem is that people who are spreading this rumour are finding it difficult to believe that I could make so much impact in such a short time. Some of them wonder when I released this song that I should be this successful. Some say they hear I have so much money in my account and I wear good clothes and they fail to relate it with the success of my music only. They don’t want to believe because a lot of artistes out there have great songs and are not making money.
But my case is different because we are working and walking very closely with God. We are applying both international and the local marketing strategy to sell the songs. People are finding it difficult to believe that this guy is making such an impact from only one song.
Did you have a quarrel with Konga?
I did not have any quarrel with him. They say Konga is claiming he is the owner of O4kasibe. He is not the owner. I spoke to him and he said he never mentioned anything like that to anybody. There has never been any misunderstanding between myself and any musician.
We learnt you claimed you were a student of Leeds City University and some people said it was not true
Leeds City University is a private university in Ibadan. To start with, I have many friends in that school. Most of them are not people that I just met. They are all childhood friends. For example, in the school where I have my strongest fan base the students there see me as one of their own.
At a point, I started thinking of going to the university to further my education. I felt that since I have a good relationship with the students, may be I should try to get an admission into the school.
I told some of my friends that I might be getting admission into the school considering the relationship I have got with most of the students there. I never said I was a bona fide student of the school. I am an artiste and I understand how far one word you say could make or mar you.
Then again, if I am not in the school and I claim I am there, I would be giving free publicity to the school. Please, I didn’t tell anybody that I was a student of Leeds City University. I have just got a very strong fan base over there. I don’t think I would even want to disclose any school I would enrol to anybody.
It is amazing that you are not a university undergraduate. Was it by choice that you have not aquired higher education?
That aspect is quite complicated. When I finished secondary school, I ventured into digital film animation with the Nigerian Institution of Information Technology. I later went to the University of Abuja for a diploma programme.
It was that time that I did Same Ni. I found out that music was not something you would do part time and get what you want. I decided to ease off on the school thing and face my musical career for a couple of years. I thank God that the result is positive. I don’t think it is a bad idea if I decide to pursue higher education now. I still have a love for science. I still have a love for whatever course I intend to study. I am not going to sing forever.
Don’t you think your musical career would suffer if you get into the university?
I think so. It is difficult to find a prominent artiste who is making so much waves and studying in the university at the same time.
There are various institutions that are designed not just to help artistes, but to help people who are in different professions and studying.
A lot of people may not consider going back to school, since they are already successful in their chosen careers
I am not thinking in that direction. The foundation I had before getting to this point will not allow me to ignore education. I started as a disc jockey. A disc jockey plays different kinds of songs in a party. He understands the crowd and tries to give them the very best of music.
From that point, I ventured into rapping. I didn’t start as a singer, I was a rapper. Then, I started producing beats that would fit into songs. Then last year, I started singing. It is just that I have been following the normal procedure way back.
I understand that most of the big problems that most artiste have is that of orientation and education. Education and wealth are two different things. In today’s world, you find a lot of literate people working so hard and under the payroll of illiterates who are very wealthy. That is the situation that I do not want to experience in my own life time. I want to study something that I have always loved and then do music as well.
What about your female fans?
Coping with them is not as hard as people think. One of the things that have helped me is that before I got into this career, I had friends who were stars. Most times I was always with them. I would say I have been learning from their mistakes. Just as I made my research very well before I ventured into music, I know the dos and don’ts. I am not a total saint but at the same time, I am not the Devil with horns.
But when you see a female fan that once to get closer, it is basically because of what she has seen around you. If not for your stardom, that person would not give a damn about you. That person would not see you and like you. The moment you start disrespecting one fan by getting closer than you should, you are disrespecting the rest as well.
What is your girlfriend saying about your relationship with your female fans?
I don’t have a girlfriend.
For real?
Anyway, it is like this: I used to have a girlfriend before the whole stardom stuff blew up like this.
She didn’t wnt you to be a star?
At first, she was okay with the fact that I was singing. She likes singing as well. But she didn’t expect it to get this big. She didn’t like the fact that everybody wants to see me and all that. She just wasn’t comfortable with that and she was looking at the future and she kept asking if I would have time for the family. It came to a point where I had to choose between my career and the relationship.
So you chose your career?
I didn’t say I was going to choose my career over her. At a point, the music thing required a lot of attention from me. I didn’t have time for food, let alone for anybody. Getting a girlfriend now who would be somewhere nagging and saying I am not giving her attention would distract me from where I am going to. O4kasibe might have got me to a good height, but it has not got me to where I would really want to be. It might be difficult to settle down later. It might be difficult to get a girl who would love you for who you are and not what you are, but there is nothing I can do now.
What do you hope to achieve in future?
When I get to the height where I want to be, I would definitely give back to the society. I am not saying I would be giving beggars money, but I would invest in NGOs and companies that would reduce unemployment.
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